His Gift
by ShawThang
Summary: --COMPLETE-- Xander can’t allow Buffy to make the ultimate sacrifice, so he makes it for her.


**Title: **His Gift

**Author: **ShawThang

**Summary: **Xander won't allow Buffy to make the ultimate sacrifice, so he makes it for her.****

**Rating: **PG

**Setting: **During "The Gift"

**Spoilers:** The Gift****

**Disclaimer: **None of these characters belong to me, so don't sue.

**Author's Note: **Just an idea that came to me while watching "The Gift". Why didn't anyone else help Spike try to save Dawn on the tower?

**~~~**

**The Gift**

**~~~**

The town lies still, the quiet night unusually peaceful at such a time. The air is warm with a slight, cool breeze that gently ruffles the tops of trees and scatters the leaves and dust which cover the road. The residents rest well, their sleep uninterrupted by the screams and cries that tend to accompany the darkness of night. The town, which abides above the mouth of Hell, is calm, until a terrified scream pierces the silence.

"Buffy!"

No one stirs, the scream not quite loud enough to cause alarm, and they remain oblivious to the fight raging in the bad part of town. A fight that will decide the fate of the world they live in, a fate that may end in hell on earth should their saviours not succeed. These saviours are the very same heroes that have saved the world four times, unknown to the people they saved and unthanked for their deeds. 

But one girl heard this scream. One girl, who, in the body of a woman, secretly dreams of the days when her life was less complicated, when demons and vampires didn't want to play with her. One girl in all the world, chosen to fight the vampires and stop the swell of their numbers. One girl in all the world, who stands on the earth with a battle hammer in her hand, gazing up towards the sky where her beloved sister screams and cries for her. She forgets about the hell god behind her, forgets about the cuts and bruises marring her body, forgets about the world and everything in it except that young girl tied to the tower, crying her eyes out. And a fire begins in her belly, a fire that creeps slowly through her body and forms a heated fire of determination- determination that this girl shall not die tonight. 

Xander watches Buffy run, leaping up the stairs two at a time, her eyes never leaving the slim figure on the beam far above her head. He sees the fear in her eyes, not for herself but for the girl who became such an important element of their lives. He looks up and spies the girl he calls his sister standing limp at the edge of the tower. These two girls, Buffy and Dawn, are two people that make him fight. They make him _want _to fight. They are the reason he tries so goddamned hard to ensure this world doesn't go to hell. And he'll be damned if he stops now. 

So he waits. Willow does her spell, and Spike dashes up the stairs in the same fashion as Buffy, intent on getting to Dawn before the bitch does. Buffy is battling it out against Glory, ducking and leaping from level to level, making him cringe with fear every time she gets hit. Spike passes them, barely earning a glance from either of the women, and Xander feels a glimmer of something he can't describe. Hope? No, it's too early to be feeling hope, and yet it doesn't feel negative. 

A flow of energy flies past him and knocks Glory's minions to the ground, and he takes this chance to run past them. He ascends the stairs much like the other two did, but unlike Spike he stops when he reaches Buffy and the hell god. She sees him and grins, taunting him with words of lackeys and call boys, but he ignores her until he notices Buffy sneaking away. He throws back insults that hit the one nerve in her body, the nerve of a fashion conscious, beautiful woman. Before he can even move her fist connects with his jaw and he slams into the metal framework. She is above him and lifts him to his feet, her grip around his neck like iron. 

It is only then that she realizes Buffy is no longer there, and her enraged scream echoes through the quarry. She flings him away and takes off after the slayer, and therefore doesn't see him slide across the decking and topple off the edge. The free falling sensation almost feels ticklish, until the bottom of his stomach drops away and he is sure he will be sick. It is not long until he smashes to the ground, hitting the hard soil with a sickening thump that rings in his ears. He lies still for a moment, regaining his breath and assuring himself that he is alive. He tentatively wriggles his limbs one by one, only hesitating slightly when he hears the popping noise of his knee. 

It doesn't matter though, because he needs to get to the top of the tower. He needs to help Buffy and Spike save Dawn and defeat Glory. He ignores the blinding pain in his leg and chest and rolls onto his side, slowly and gently rising to his feet. He lurches forward, trying to gain his footing and balance, and moves towards the construction site again. And then he sees it. 

It wasn't much; had he turned a fraction to the left he may have missed it. But the blonde hair catches his eye, and he hobbles toward it, the growing feeling of dread settling in his stomach. As he draws closer the sensation intensifies, until he can physically feel the pain, a deep, gnawing at his stomach. 

No…It can't be…  

But it is. A cry escapes his lips and he falls to his knees, only a meter or two from where his beloved fiancé lay. Her body is crushed beneath a section of the wall, and only her head and shoulders are visible. He crawls to where she lay, and reaches out a hand. The tips of his fingers touch the still warm skin of her forehead and a sob passes his lips. She can't be dead. He brushes away the blood-matted hair and exposes her face, gently picking up her hand. He drops his head and vomits when her lifeless eyes stare back at him. Her once red lips are pale. There is no life in her: she is gone.

Xander raises his head, and slowly looks skyward. From where he kneels he can see the fight raging. Spike and Buffy are both gaining on Glory, and another party has joined in. Xander struggles to his feet and takes one step forward when a sudden cry reaches his ears. Spike tumbles through the air, gaining momentum as he falls, and Xander can not watch the impact of the vampire's body hitting the ground. He lets go off Anya's hand. 

He will not lose another woman tonight.

Time seems to confuse itself. One moment he is watching the scene from the bottom of the stairs, and the next he is at the top, looking across as Buffy finally knocks the bitch from the tower. Buffy rushes forward and dispatches the new guy, and Xander limps forward to help her untie Dawn. Supporting her between them, they walk away from the edge. Dawn wraps her arms around Buffy's neck and the sisters embrace. Xander turns away and finally notices the growing portal tearing through the sky. It is mesmerizing to watch. The colours appear out of nowhere, blinding him with their clarity, and seem to grow as he looks, pulling at the fabric between worlds. His mind clears of every thought, his body free of every feeling, his heart void of any aching.

"Buffy, you have to let me go. Blood starts it, and until the blood stops flowing, it'll never stop."

Xander hears his little sister speak, and every cell in his body rebels against what's being said. She is so young, too young, to die tonight. Dawn is only on the cusp of life, with a whole life ahead of her. She has only had a taste of things she should experience. It's too bloody unfair. Anya is enough. Don't take his best friend. Don't take his little sister. 

_"Cause it's always got to be blood."_

Xander thinks back to a night almost three years ago. The night when Faith poisoned Angel. The night Angel drank from Buffy. He had been so scared, so downright petrified that Buffy would not regain consciousness. So utterly stunned that saving her in the Master's lair wasn't enough. She was going to die anyway. The doctor came out, a blank expression plastered on his face. He couldn't hide the bad news, though, and Xander's heart dropped as soon as he saw the doctor's eyes. Regret. Sympathy. Pity. 

She had lost too much blood…Couldn't find a transfusion that matched her blood type…Needed time that Buffy just didn't have…He thought desperately, searching for an answer, eventually begging them to test his blood…The small jab…The nurse's return five minutes later…Sir, we have a match. Are you willing to offer…The pain.

His blood was her blood. Her blood was Dawn's blood. Their blood was the one and same. 

_"Blood starts it, and until the blood stops flowing, it'll never stop."_

He turns around and catches Buffy's eyes, holding them until they widen in understanding. Until she sees the acceptance. 

"No!" she says, shaking her head in denial. "No. I won't let you do it!"

He doesn't reply.

"Xander!" she continues. "This is my job. This is what I have to do, not you."

He finally speaks, his voice soft and soothing. "This _is _what I do, Buffy. I watch your back, and I protect the both of you."

"What about the blood?" she argues, her voice growing higher pitched with every syllable. "You can't just use any blood. It has to be Dawn's. Mine."

"And mine." She gapes, listening in rapt attention as he skims over that night. 

There is a moment of silence, broken by the appearance of a scaly dragon beating its huge wings heavily in the sky. 

"I'm not letting you do this," she cries, tears flowing freely down her cheeks.

Xander reaches out and clasps her hands in his. 

"Take my gift, Buffy. You're gift may be death, but my gift is life. And I give it to you."

"You've already given it to me once, Xander," she whispers, trying to etch every detail of his face into her mind.

He smiles. "And I'll keep giving it until I can't give it to you no more."

"I…"

Xander brushes the back of his fingers against her cheek. "I know."

He reaches out and grabs Dawn's chin between his thumb and finger. "Live for me, Dawnie. And tell Willow I love her, and Giles…tell him thanks."

All she can do is nod, and she clutches Buffy's hand. He looks at them one more time and turns to face the rising sun on the horizon. Before he can think any more he breaks into a run, and dives off he edge. As the pain ravages his body, he thinks about his reason for living. He realizes that his reason for living is his reason for dying, and that he would die a hundred deaths to give the ones he loves life. His gift is life.

**~~~**

**The End**

**~~~**

**If you read this then I would love to hear what you thought. Good, bad or confused, give me a bell with your advice or comments. Thanks! -ShawThang**


End file.
